News

A year after announcing plans to embark on an ambitious funding round, Dubai-based online marketplace and retailer Souq.com is well on its way.

Souq.com, which sells everything from men’s and women’s apparel to mobile devices online, on Monday announced the closing of a $275 million funding round led by South Africa-based newspaper, TV and e-commerce operator Naspers Ltd. and hedge fund Tiger Global Management. Souq.com, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, says the round is “the largest financing of an e-commerce business in the Middle East.”

Tiger Global Management has also invested in the likes of Indian web merchant Flipkart.com, Airbnb and Postmates. Naspers, meanwhile, owns 34% of Chinese Internet operator Tencent, which is a major investor in JD.com, No. 1 in the Internet Retailer 2015 China 500.

“The funding will be used to drive further growth by investing in technology, scaling our marketplace operations, launching new product categories and recruiting the best talent,” Souq.com CEO Ronaldo Mouchawar said.

According to CrunchBase, this brings the total amount raised by Souq.com to $390 million across four capital infusions, including a $75 million round in March 2014, also led by Naspers. On its website, Souq.com says it sells more than 400,000 products online and draws more than 24 million unique visitors each month.